Chances are, you were taught to start your day on the right foot. There’s an assumption that if you start your day this way, then you can expect to have a good day. And if something goes wrong then you’re in a better frame of mind to deal with it. This approach is known as strategic optimism but studies have shown that it works best for people who are not anxious. They are confident.

What do you do if you’re anxious? You do the opposite. You start your day on the wrong foot, right?

Positive thinkers look for solutions when they encounter a problem. Negative thinkers find a problem for every solution.

Positive thinkers take on a Midas frame of mind before getting out of bed in the morning, so from there on, everything they touch has a good chance of turning to gold.

But.

It doesn’t always work out that way for negative thinkers. Sh*t happens.

Intelligent negative thinkers are defensive pessimists. Or maybe, they’re healthy skeptics. If they’re anxious about a situation or their ability to achieve a desired outcome, they keep their expectations low to reduce disappointment. They identify potential worst-case scenarios and then develop and act on strategies to manage them.

There are benefits to be gained by starting your day this way. Because you do it on purpose. You attempt to expose the potential for sh*t to happen first thing in the morning so you can develop a contingency plan in case things go wrong. You tackle potential sh*t in your mind’s eye before it happens in order to keep it to a minimum instead of having to deal with so many unexpected eruptions throughout the day.

Each morning before you start the day, you would mine for sh*t like you were mining for gold. Visualise sh*t happening. Rehearse it in your mind and journal it. Five to ten minutes. And then before you go off to sleep at night jot down what’s on your mind. It’s much better out than held within. You don’t need to lose sleep over it.

Negative thinking has it’s place. It’s a powerful force. You just need to be conscious of what you’re doing with it. You can put the wrong foot right by making a conscious start to your day. If you’re a negative thinker, there could be good reasons for it. Use it to calm your fears.

Reference:

Norem, J. (2002). The positive power of negative thinking: using defensive pessimism to harness anxiety and perform at your peak. Basic Books. London.